Truss manufacturing plants rely on specially designed tables and moveable locating devices or stop pieces in order to properly design and build both wooden and metal trusses. Typically, such tables are made up of a series of elongated planks or bars, running in parallel spaced relation to one another. Those bars are normally wider at the top then at the bottom so that the slots which are formed in between adjacent bars have a wider bottom portion than top portion. The configuration of the slots is basically in the form of an "inverted-T shape".
The locating devices or stop pieces are consequently designed to match the inverted-T shape of the slot. That is, they are designed to be held in place vertically by abutting against the flanges in the slot which result from the narrowing of the slot at its top portion. Those stop pieces then are provided with a means of abutting against the workpiece to hold it in place on the table.
One of the disadvantages to this conventional configuration for both the slot and the stop pieces is that in order to remove the stop piece, it must be slid longitudinally along the length of the slot and removed from either end of the slot. The typical stop piece cannot be removed vertically and similarly cannot be dropped into place where desired. Thus, the usefulness of such stop pieces or locating devices is restricted. When such devices are required to be positioned within a partially or fully assembled truss, they cannot be subsequently removed without removing at least one of the abutting truss members from the table.
In addition, the typical stop pieces in order to be held in place vertically within the slot when in use require the inverted-T configuration of the slot. Those devices are not contemplated to be used in a table having straight sided slots.